Casali offers a variety of vacation packages to help you plan your dream getaway. Our staff is experienced helping you plan every detail of the most memorable trip of your life. Allow yourself to have your picture perfect destination wedding. Reconnect with your family while picking grapes. Re-energize your corporate management team with a week of focused solitude. Or shake it all up with a trip that is purely you.
Please click the ‘Contact Us’ button to inquire about your specific travel plans.
SAMPLE 7-DAY ITINERARY
Day 1 Saturday Morning arrival in Rome. Travel through coastal towns to Casali di Bibbiano. Lunch and relax at the villa. Wine tasting and welcome Dinner at Casali.
Day 2 Sunday Visit Abbazia di Monte Oliveto – a beautifully located abbey with majestic frescos by Sodoma & Signorelli picturing the life of St. Benedict. On to Pienza, birthplace of Pope Pius II in 1405 and Montepulciano, a small walled city lined with splendid Renaisance palaces and churches. Stop at one of our favorite leather factories on the way home. Dinner at Casali
Day 3 Monday Siena – Travel through the lush landscapes of Tuscany to one of the regions’ most beautiful cities. Visit the Duomo, renowned for its spectacular use of colored marble & Piazza del Campo, famous for the Palio festival. Dinner at Casali.
Day 4 Tuesday Florence – Journey to the city of art and the birthplace of the Renaissance. Guided tour of the Uffizzi Gallery & Michelangelo’s David at the Accademia. Dinner at CDB.
Day 5 Wednesday Relax at Casali. A cooking class with Alberto & staff chef will be available in the morning for those who are interested. Wine tasting at famous winery in Montalcino. Dinner at Casali.
Day 6 Thursday Assisi – Motor through the Umbrian hills to the spectacular Basillica of St. Francis with its beautiful frescos by many famous artists, including Giotto & Cimabue. Lunch at Lake Trasimeno. Dinner at Casali.
Day 7 Friday San Gimignano & Volterra – a small walled town crowning the countryside with its 14 tall towers. Farewell dinner at Casali di Bibbiano
Optional: Additional cooking classes and wine tasting available upon request.
Palio
Palio di Siena is the most famous palio, or horserace, in all of Italy. It is held twice a year just minutes from Casali on July 2nd and August 16th. Riders and horses in the race represent one of the seventeen Contrade, or the city wards.
From Wikipedia:
Any connection with the sacred games of the ancient Romans being obscured by time, the earliest known antecedents of the race are medieval. The town’s central piazza was the site of public games, largely combative: pugna, a sort of many-sided boxing match or brawl; jousting; and in the 16th century, bullfights. Public races organized by the Contrade were popular from the 14th century on; called palii alla lunga, they were run across the whole city.
When the Grand Duke of Tuscany outlawed bullfighting in 1590, the Contrade took to organising races in the Piazza del Campo. The first such races were on buffalo-back and called bufalate; asinate, races on donkey-back, later took their place, while horse-racing continued elsewhere. The first modern Palio (called palio alla tonda to distinguish it from the earlier palii alla lunga) took place around 1650. At first, one race was held each year, on July 2; a second, on August 16, was added later. The horses go around the piazza three times.
Let the Casali staff be your guide to the ins and outs of the local tradition and all the pageantry that comes with it. From the best seats in the balconies to an up close and personal look from the infield, you will have an experience to remember for a life time.
Harvest
Harvest is the most important time of the year at Casali. When the grapes turn ripe and the people enter the vineyard to reap the reward of a season of plating and care, Casali comes alive with the energy of harvest.
Guests have the opportunity to participate hands-on in this centuries-old Tuscan tradition. You can be at the birthplace of the world’s finest wine and sit with the master winemakers as he develops his strategies for mixing the year’s vintage. You can take home a bottle or two or three to share with friends and family back home as you regale them with tales of working under the sun for the perfect bottle of red or white.
Truffles
Truffles are one of the most sought-after culinary delights in the world. And Tuscany has some of the most treasured. Walk with the Casali staff and its truffle dogs as they hunt for truffles across the hillsides.
Let them show you the tricks of the trade and bring back these delicacies for your meals at the villa and taste the rewards of your quest. Taste the freshest and most delectable truffles in your dinner that evening as the mast chef prepares his best and most indulgent meals. Learn recipes for preparing truffles that will blow your mind, awaken your palate and linger in your memory for days, weeks or years.
Weddings
Italy is undoubtedly the world’s most romantic location. And Tuscany is its crown jewel.
Allow yourself to have your dream wedding. Picture yourself standing with your partner on the terrace overlooking the Tuscan valley committing your lives to each other. Share your first kiss as the sun sets and begin your lives together in pure bliss.
Casali’s wedding planner takes care of every detail. From the arrival of your guests, to the flowers that adorn the altar, to the music that gets your party started, every aspect will exceed your expectations.
Your wedding should be the most perfect day of your life. Let Casali be your host.
Honeymoons
Give yourself permission to get away. Follow your perfect day with an even more perfect honeymoon at Casali. Relax at the most beautiful place on earth and begin your life together in a state of perfect bliss.
The luxury hotel at Casali provides you with every amenity to truly let go, recharge and enjoy each other fully. Take a long bubble bath or spend an afternoon floating in our full-size pool. Sleep in and have a glass – or a bottle – of wine with lunch. Cuddle in the corner over a candle lit authentic Italian dinner and slow dance under the stars. Take each other’s breath away.
Anniversaries
Fall in love all over again. At Casali, the romance of Tuscany will whisk you back to your first days together as a couple. That first kiss, the goose bumps on your neck, staying up late just talking. Let it all come back.
Explore new things together – a new recipe, a bottle of wine, the piazzas of Siena and the shores of Castiglione d Pescaia. Create memories you’ll cherish for the next 5, 10, 25, 50 years and can’t wait to share with friends and family back home. Let Casali become your sacred place, where everything is bliss and you can’t wait to get back.
Family Reunions
When is the last time your family spent real, quality time together? It’s time to get back to basics. Casali has all the fun things you remember from your childhood – horseback riding, swimming, a farm full of friendly animals, a grand piano. Give your children the kinds of memories that made your childhood special, and give yourself a chance to relive them.
Reconnect with each other over a big family dinner riddled with belly laughs. Get up early and go for a run together. Or stay up late singing along to your favorite songs. Teach your kids to bake; or learn yourself.
Casali’s staff will take care of all of the details, keeping your family entertained and you relaxed.
Corporate Retreats
Your business is your people. Too often, you lose sight of that fact in light of looming deadlines and anxious customers. Take some time to re-focus on your management team and encourage them to re-focus on the business. Engage them in building the business, setting new goals and creating a new plan for growth.
At Casali, you can get away from the everyday distractions of business, your Blackberry, your calendar. Let us provide with a setting that promotes free thinking, collaboration and innovation. Create trust and honesty through team building activities like bike riding and cooking.
Our fully equipped meeting space provides you with Internet access, presentation tools and a big screen television to make your retreat as effective as it is memorable.
Return back to the office ready to get to work and grow your business.
Custom Vacations
Casali’s staff is fully knowledgeable of all Tuscany has to offer. Work with us to make your wildest dream come true during your time at the villa. Special occasions are truly special at Casali. Contact us below to start planning your perfect holiday.
Films
Let Casali provide the perfect setting for your film. Let the audience soak in the Tuscan sun, taste the grapes from the vineyard and explore the mountain and valleys. Give your actors a place where they can fully focus on character and story and have the emotional freedom to do their best work. Empower your staff to think creatively, push the boundaries and connect with the audience.
Casali is also happy to provide luxury amenities, full catering and access to technology. We will work hand-in-hand with producers to make sure all needs are met and all visions fulfilled.
